49

Egress Hairpinning

I run a couple servers inside my network, mostly relying on a reverse-proxy to accept connections on TCP 443 and proxy the connections to the right internal server. I don't run separate internal v. external DNS. Instead, I have a more typical setup where I define an external DNS server in eero, then the eero includes its address as the DNS server in all DHCP addresses, and forwards the requests.

 

As a result, though, I can't access my server by [subdomain].[domain].com while *inside* my eero network. I have to instead use DNS shortnames. This is annoying for a number of reasons. 

161 replies

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    • eltonsiu_gmailcom
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I bought my 4 units in December.   Would you take them back and refund me? 

    @eltonsiu@gmail.com

     

     

    • Luc
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    "I would like to mention that the thread you linked out to was from around a year ago. "

    That's the problem. Eero knew about this over a year ago and nothing has been done to address the issue so understand that we're quite sceptical about it being ever taken care of. I think you made design decisions that prove to be incompatible with NAT loopback so there's no chance in hell that it'll ever be implemented. At least acknowledge this so we can all move to other solutions.

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    Thanks for chiming in usr2284a .

    We absolutely want you and others to continue to push for this feature. I would never ask you guys to stop -- I'm here to push the things you and others would like to see. However, development of features, such as more complex ones like this, do take time.

    We wish it were easy, and that we could build all the features requested. But it takes resources, and many of those are focused on continuing improvements and enhancements to eero make sure your system is always getting faster, smarter, and better.

    Hopefully one of these days Hairpin NAT will be one of those enhancements. But I'm not going to mislead anyone, and for that reason, again I'll state that we don't have any updates at this time.

    Keep the feedback coming, and I'll continue to share. 

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    eltonsiu@gmail.com  —

    Per our refund policy, all returns must be made within 30 days of purchase. We cannot provide any returns outside of the 30-day mark.

    • usr2284a
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jeff C.  Actually, just yesterday on reddit, one of your engineers admitted it would be technologically simple to implement.  Just no one has been instructed to do so.  So there is that... :)

     

     

    • Luc
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    usr2284a

    Can you share that Reddit link?

    • alexguichet
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi, New Eero owner here.

    Jumping in to +1 and say I would really like this feature. Thanks.

    • usr2284a
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I gave up and installed a wired EdgeRouter Lite(which has had this feature for over 4 years) and placed the eero in bridge mode.  Very happy at this point.

    • briceb
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I'll add my name to the group of people who want this feature.

    • Honus
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Add me to the list, also because of security cameras.  Very confusing to try to explain to others in the household how this works and why it has to be this way when it was working before.  I've never had a router before that doesn't support it.  I seem to recall the claim before being that it was a security issue.

    • russwittmann
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I'd return it before the time is up. This feature which is basic, is not going to get fixed anytime soon. 

    • NickP
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I really need this feature too for things in my network as I do go in AND out of my network. I'll be going back to main router with eero in bridge mode. Here is a good link for some speed tests and options. I may be trying the Linksys Velop first. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/02/linksys-velop-review-uk-mesh-wi-fi/

    Sorry eero, I tried to like these.

    • crispywisp
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    It seems this feature has been requested for a while and still hasn't been answered. 

     

    I also need need this feature as I run an IIS server at home. Yes, accessing the server using its internal IP is a workaround.

     

    But this doesn't work efficiently in my case because I run 3 websites in the IIS. I have to use my phone, disconnect it to eero just to be able to access the websites. 

     

    When can we we get this feature? This should've been part of the eero since day one, right? Most routers support this now. 

    • go_robot_go
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    PLEASE prioritize NAT loopback. I have a home automation & security system that uses my mobile phone's geolocation info to inform the HA controller whether I am "home" or "away". My phone obviously has to be able to reach the HA controller inside my home network to update that status. However, without NAT loopback, the process of updating my home/away status is unreliable. Either I use my internal IP address, and can only notify it that I'm home, or I use my external DNS, and can update it when I leave, but am unable to notify it that I'm home if it tries to send the notification once I'm in range of my home wi-fi. This is frustrating to no end, and has me deeply regretting my Eero purchase.

    • eltonsiu_gmailcom
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    These requests have only been given "lip service".   Eero has no interest of making their products to meet the very basic standard features.   I regret getting the eero units.

    • go_robot_go
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    eltonsiu@gmail.com  The way I see it, it is up to eero whether they retain me as a customer. I've already made my feelings about the current state of the eero system known via Amazon, so I've done what I can to prevent more people from ending up in the same boat. If eero manages to fix this in the next six months, then perhaps they'll keep me as a customer. If they don't, then I can guarantee you that I'll be looking for sales on the Orbi in November.

    • russwittmann
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    If you can escape with a refund do so now start your return. This is not a priority in the current system. They might be working on a new router with this option and calling it their pro line who knows, but this clearly isn't a priority right now.  I selected a refund method myself.

    • CodeGrue
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    This really needs to become their #1 priority. As a user, this is the only know deficiency I am aware of or experiencing. I am not seeing all the "performance issues" they supposedly keep fixing.

    • go_robot_go
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I must be one of the lucky ones then, who still has performance issues, like full signal on my device, full signal between eeros, but zero throughput. I get to enjoy that PLUS the omission of otherwise standard network management features.

    • eltonsiu_gmailcom
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view


    russwittmann No chance that I would buy their "pro line" if eero chooses to fix this in their next generation product.  This is a very basic feature.  I only have myself to blame not finding this issue within the 30-day refund period.  So far, their response, or lack of, has been very disappointing.

    • crispywisp
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    What is an alternative to eero that supports loopback? I asked Google WiFi, and they don't support it as well.

    • deatondg
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I’m still salty that eero hasn’t addressed this problem, too, although I do somewhat understand why they don’t implement it since there is a definite security concern for NAT loopback to be enabled by default. Hopefully, though, I can spread some hope for working around this issue without buying new hardware since the eero is an otherwise amazing product. You can of course buy a separate router to use for NAT, but that’s pretty annoying. Although If you own a domain name and have a server computer in your house, preferably running Linux, you can use an internal DNS server to work around the lack of NAT loopback. Basically, what you’ll end up doing is pointing your domain to your external IP through your DNS host, then point your domain on the internal DNS server to the internal IP of whichever device you want to access on both sides of the network. Then in every configuration where you would use your IP, just use your domain instead. This is also pretty nifty since if your external IP changes, you don’t have to reconfigure anything except your domain. A few caveats are that you’ll need a different subdomain for every device in your house that you want to connect to on both sides of the network since they’ll get the same IP externally but a different IP internally. You’ll also need to use the same ports both inside and outside your house unless whatever service you’re using supports SRV records, which is pretty unlikely. And remember to go into your eero configuration and set your DNS server to the internal IP of your internal DNS server. I used the BIND DNS server with this tutorial, modifying it slightly since my house is not a data server. The basic principles are still the same though. Assuming you keep your internal DNS server up to date and don’t do anything foolish with it, I don’t see any of the additional security risks associated with NAT loopback either, but I’m certainly not a network engineer. Hopefully this helps anyone who still really likes eero but wants to do some fancy stuff with their network both inside and out!

    • CodeGrue
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view


    go_robot_go You have tried isolating your modem I assume?

    • russwittmann
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    crispywisp Google WiFi supported this from day one, and I'm using Google WiFi as well.

    • go_robot_go
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    CodeGrue How do you mean?

Content aside

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